Inflatable display form



INFLATABLE DISPLAY FORM Filed Dec. 12, 1947 INVENTOR. EDMUND BARBERAATTORNEY Patented Nov. 7, 1 950 UNITED STAT ES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.(01. 22367) f This invention relates to inflatable display forms. 1' V pBroadly, it is an object of my invention to provide an inflatable formupon which dresses, gowns, negligees, blouses and. other types ofgarments can be displayed. I V U 3 More particularly, it is an object ofmy invention toprovide a mannikin, preferably made of plastic filmmaterial which can be easily'inflated by lung pressure, pump, hairblower, vacuum cleaner or other similar device, and which can bedeflated to a compact size for easy storage or carrying, such as bytravelling salesmen for display purposes.

A further object of the invention is to provide an inflatable device orform which can be used for floor andiwindow display, which iscomparatively inexpensive, light and easy to handle and eventof damage.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a swivel hangerwhich will permit the mannikin to rotate by a slight breeze provided bya fan so that dresses and the like may be displayed in their thirddimensional form to make them more attractive to customers.

Heretofore, dresses and the like have been displayed in showrooms and inhotels by travelling salesmen upon flat hangers which do not show thegarments to best advantage. Third dimensional display mannikins made ofpapier-mach or plaster are expensive, cumbersome, hard and costly torepair and cannot be stored without taking up expensive space. In manyshow rooms live models are used and in many instances, travelling mentake live models with them or hire live models in the diiferent townsalong their which can be easily and cheaply repaired in,the,

itinerary. Such means to display garments are,

exceedingly expensive. By my inflatable form the same result is achievedat a far smaller cost at the same time providing automatic movement bypermitting the mannikin to rotate in a slight fan breeze.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention,reference is had to the following detailed description, in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of the inflated form.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the form shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken through line 3-3 of Fig. 1showing the vertical central diaphragm partially broken away.

Fig. 4 is a section taken through line 4-4 of Fig. 3. r

Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section of the upper part of the formshowing the diaphragm valve and the rotatable hanger.

Referring to the drawing, numeral Ill represents an inflatable form ormannikin, preferably made of a plastic film material, such as a vinylplastic which can be readily sealed by heat and pressure along its ribsor joints to prevent air or gas from leaving the form except through itsvalve ll.

The form is made of eight vertical shaped pieces comprising opposedfront pieces I2 and 13, two front side pieces l4 and I5, two rear sidepieces lfiand I1 and two opposed back pieces I8 and I9. These eightvertical pieces are'heat sealed providing front inner ribs 20, 2| and 22and front seams 23, 24 and 25, side ribs 26 and 2'! and side seams 28and 29, rear ribs 30, 3| and 32 and rear seams 33, .34 and 35. A bottom36 is heat sealed to the lower ends of the eight vertical piecesproviding a circular rib 31. Of course, the vertical pieces may be madelonger at the bottom to eliminate the circumferential rib 31 and theends heat sealed together so that the ends of the vertical pieces flowinto the bottom in the form of a semi-circular base to give the bottom astreamlined effect.

At the upper or neck portion 38, the upper ends are turned in to providea flange 39. A circular top 40 is heat sealed against the inside offlange 39 to effectively seal the top, except for the diphragm valve Hof the type well known in the art, which is heat sealed in the center oftop 40. Of course, the valve H may be placed anywhere in the mannikin,such as in the bottom or back.

In order to give the resulting form a natural effect, that is, to giveit standard dimensions for a predetermined size, I have provided notonly shaped vertical pieces but three diaphragms.

These diaphragms are shaped so that the form is prevented from expandingat certain places to prevent giving it a sausage-like appearance whendiaphragms 42 have been provided: 7 These dia- 2 phragms are attached byheat sealing at their narrow ends at the back to rear ribs 30 and 32 andat their wide ends to front ribs 20 and 22,

slightly above the breasts as shown best in Fig. 3. The air can flow allaround these diaphragms. The shoulders 43 are somewhat accentuated togive the effect of padded shoulders which are the vogue at the presenttime.

Attached to top 40 is a bracket 45 with a-hole therein through which theterminal 45 is passed.

-Termina1 45 is attached to .a chain 46 which in turn is attached to ahook i! for hangin the ,form I0. This arrangement permits the form J torevolve either .by manually turning it or by blowing a stream of air atone side of it as with a fan.

Of course, the figure or form It] can be stylized from time to time asthe vogue changes, that is Jdifierent portions may be accentuated tokeep abreast of the vogue, such as the so called hour glass figure ofthe Gibson Girl era when the waist line was narrow and the hips large,or the -boyish form era when it was stylish to have narrow or boyishhips.

j It is also within the realm of my invention to ,providea half-formconstructed with the same ltype'of'material and on the sameprinciplesabove 'stated'for the display of blouses and brassieres @for whichan'upper-half would be used; for corsets, panties, shorts, bathingtrunks and the like, 1a lower-half would be used. For the display ofhosiery-and shoes, leg forms would be used; and for the display ofgloves and hats, hands and Lheadforms' would be usedyall constructed onthe same ,principles'as above stated. In the head form, a metallic conecould be attached at the bottom with the vortex within the head. Thevortex of the cone would rest upon an elongated pin attached to a baseso that the head could revolve upon the pin.

It is also obvious that various changes and modifications could be madein the details of construction without departing from the general spiritof the invention.

I claim:

An inflatable display form of described having breast portions, saidform comprising eight irregularly shaped pieces of plastic filmvmaterial consisting of two opposed front pieces, two front side pieces,two rear side pieces, two opposed back pieces, said eight pieces heatsealed along their edges forming ribs, a bottom portion heat sealed tothe lower ends of said eight pieces, a substantially circular topportion heat sealed at the neck, a valve in said display form .forinflating anddeflating said form, diaphragms in said form,said'diaphragms includin a longitudinal central diaphragm attached tothe front and back portions of said form, a pair ofsmaller opposeddiaphragms attached to the upper back portion and above the breastportions, said cen- EDMUND BARBERA.

REFERENCES CITED 7 1 The following references are of record in the'fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number I i Name Date. 532,602 Smith Jans15, 1395839,431 smith Dec. '25, 1906 11,066,551 Swallie July 8, 1913 1,165,045Uff0rd, Dec. 21, 1915 .Heighway "-Mar. 13, 1934 the character 7

